A revolution for northern cities? – The debate over city mayors

It seemed to be a great big yawn. But the notion that individuals might bang the local drum more effectively than cabinets or committees is showing signs of catching on. The
Guardian Northerner's political columnist
Ed Jacobs ponders...

Is there such a thing as a northern Boris? Or indeed Ken? Photograph: Alastair Grant/AP

3 May 2012. Ring any bells?

No? Well it's the date the government has set for a referendums on whether some of the country's largest cities want to see the establishment of Boris Johnson-style elected Mayors. Included will be Bradford, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield and Wakefield. If voters say yes, then Mayors will formally be elected on 15 November.

Given the lack of any major campaigns so far, my guess is that readers of this blog are not exactly filled with a sense of burning excitement and anticipation about the proposal, although I stand ready to be corrected.

If that is your position, however,consider this – on many occasions those who have commented on this column have complained, fairly or otherwise, that the government simply doesn't 'get' the north - that a government full of MPs representing affluent areas of the south seems to be ignoring the needs of Yorkshire, the north east and the north west.

With the minister for decentralisation, Greg Clark having declared that elected mayors "provide cities with the strong, visible leadership that can help them prosper nationally and internationally" could they be a revolution in local democracy?

Sir jimmy would have walked it in Leeds. Photograph: Geoff Wilkinson / Rex Features

Just imagine having strong directly elected figures from the north's major cities, able to bang the drum for the needs of the communities they serve; able to embody and articulate both our hopes and concerns. With Salford having already said yes to the idea and the Labour leader of Wakefield council, Peter Box, having declared his intention to stand to be mayor if Wakefield says it wants one, the contest seems to be hotting up.

But is this all just an obsession among the political hacks that the public simply aren't engaging in? In Salford, the turnout was just over 18% whilst the Yorkshire Post has described apathy across the region towards the idea of a mayor. Indeed, even members of the governing coalition have issues with the idea. Take David Ward for example. The Lib Dem MP for Bradford East told his local paper, the Telegraph and Argus, last year:

My view on elected mayors is very clear. The issue of the government of a local authority should be for elected members of that local authority to determine.

In a guest article for the Guardian Northerner today, posted immediately after this one, Sam Simms of the Institute for Government makes the case for elected mayors, declaring them to be "better able to represent and negotiate on behalf of their cities" and in the process best placed to improve prospects for economic growth for the UK's major cities. You can read Sam here.

But what do you think?

Are elected mayors a revolution in local democracy? Are they likely to improve the prospects for the north's major cities? If you're in an area having a referendum in May, have you seen any visible evidence of campaigns either for or against their introduction? Ed Jacobs is a political consultant at the Leeds-based Public Affairs Company and devolution correspondent for the centre-left political and policy blog, Left Foot Forward.